The Art and Science of Retail Merchandising
What is a retail merchandising? There are fundamental concepts that we must first understand these are; what merchandise is and what merchandising entails. Merchandise is the professional categorization of goods and services that are offered in the market (Levy and Weitz 12). While merchandising is both the strategy and activities incorporated to ensure sales of products and services. Various research has been done just to make out what retail merchandising is, with some description matching it to art and science. While it is true that customers are not attracted so much by the sensory experience of a product but rather by the value drawn from the products, appealing is still significant (Levy and Weitz 17). It is remarkable how the retail industry has experienced a substantive economic development and growth over time. The fundamental question that is asked is on the factors that differentiate retail merchandising as an art and as a science. Questions like; is it the strategies employed, location, or nature of the product and services offered? Retail merchandising appeals to consumers in numerous ways with activities like; digital and physical marketing to consumers, in-store design, and many more.
Appearance is vital for any retail shop, and many considerations are made in terms of designing, planning, and executing exhibitions. How a product or service is presented will ultimately translate to its sale to the consumers. A perfect explanation for this apparent phenomenon is that of the master chefs; they are taught on the imperativeness of the presentation of food. Food should not only be tasty and nutritious but also be appealing to the eye (Bond). A reason why most restaurant menus and billboards on display are filled with photographs of very colorful foods while the actual food does not match photos in colorfulness. At times having quality products does not count if they are not appealing to the customer to purchase them, which is the ideal reason for being in the market. Ultimately, displaying the merchandise communicate more to the customer on the “take me” aspect hence initiating purchase.
Merchandising activities aim is to pillar the retail strategy, which creates revenue and value for the retailer and customer, respectively. As much as retail merchandising focusses much on making the merchandise appealing, the most significant part in making sales is on the value and quality of the product and services given to the customer. Service and product that is of high value and quality give consumers their desired satisfaction and, in a way, gets better reviews, which markets it further through referrals. Key retail strategies are dependent on the selection of the retail merchandise, and type of service and goods a retailer stocks (Levy and Weitz 2). Different strategies work for various products and services, as these different merchandises are dispensed in a different location, have different demographical target priorities and different resource inputs. Hence a perfect strategy that is well thought out and resonates well with the merchandise target market has an impactful outcome.
Visual merchandising as a strategy has contributed to the substantive success of many businesses and is the main factor in retail merchandizing (Bhalla and Anuraag 22). At any given point, both the products and services must be put on display so that the customers can have the appeal to make purchases or inquiries. The visual merchandising strategy gives retailers room for creating an appealing atmosphere that makes their merchandise look inviting and attractive. Visual merchandising is vital as it communicates directly to the customers without a third-party influence, and is the last phase in a store set up where the design of outlook is made distinctively to attract customers. The visual merchandising strategy entails adjustments on; design and layout, the color and lighting of the store (Bhalla and Anuraag 18). Therefore the more attractive the stores and merchandise are, the more sales are made hence more revenue.
Visual merchandising is the art presenting or exhibiting merchandise to make the following accomplishments: Attract customers attention; Enable success in sales; Effectively and creatively educate consumers on the merchandise; Present products in a relatable environment; Establish a perfect context for sold merchandise, and Help customers match their desires for particular merchandise (Bhalla and Anuraag 18). In addition to inspiring positive customer reaction, visual merchandising strategies that are suitable can influence the consumer’s perception and spending behavior, which makes them establish loyalty to particular brands or stores. As a science, the influence of optical stimulation in heavily employed in visual merchandising in influencing consumer attributes to specific merchandise.
In conclusion, various strategies guide through retail merchandising with different retail stocks. Factors that stand out as far as visual merchandising is a concern are; creativity, continuity, and agility. Businesses must be able to address the current problems that are faced by being flexible, use appropriate retail merchandising, and give customers value for money to experience success.
Works cited
Bond, Ron. “The Art and Science of Retail Displays.” Entrepreneur, 22 July 2005, www.entrepreneur.com/article/78992.Accessed 5 May 2020
Bhalla, Swati, and Anuraag, S. Visual Merchandising. Tata McGraw Hill, 2010.
Levy, Michael, and Weitz, Barton. Retailing Management. McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2012.